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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5W-09265

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 25 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when ScotRail will next update its Cycling Innovation Plan.

Question reference: S5W-09266

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 25 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how often the ScotRail-chaired cycle forum meets.

Question reference: S5W-09263

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 25 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of ScotRail's performance in meeting the improvement targets set out out in its Cycling Innovation Plan, and how this was carried out.

Question reference: S5W-09298

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 25 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many new shower facilities have been installed in Scottish stations since Abellio won the ScotRail franchise in 2015.

Question reference: S5W-09184

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 18 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many tenement buildings have been demolished as a result of falling into disrepair in each year since 2007.

Information on the number of tenement buildings that have been demolished as a result of falling in to disrepair is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Estimates of the total number of demolitions in Scotland are published each year by the Scottish Government in Housing Statistics for Scotland web tables, available at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/ConDem.

The Scottish Housing Regulator collects information through the Social Housing Charter Data on the number of social sector properties demolished as a direct result of the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS), which is available here: https://www.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk/find-and-compare-landlords/statistical-information

Question reference: S5W-09183

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it takes to help maintain tenement buildings.

Responsibility for maintaining tenements is principally the responsibility of the owners. The management and maintenance of tenements is usually governed by rules and conditions set out in the title deeds for the flats within the block. The Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 provides a structure, known as the Tenement Management Scheme (“the TMS”), for the maintenance and management of tenements. The TMS only applies if the title deeds do not make other arrangements or if they are defective. The TMS contains provision for majority decision making on a range of issues, including repairs.

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 gave local authorities discretionary powers to require owners to carry out work on substandard houses and to provide assistance with repairs and improvements to private property. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 amended these powers to make them more effective in response to consultation with local authorities and other stakeholders, including new provisions to allow local authorities to pay missing shares for work agreed by a majority of owners in a tenement. In January 2017, the Scottish Government launched an area-based pilot of an equity loan scheme to assist owners to carry out essential repairs and energy efficiency improvements, which could facilitate common repairs in tenements.

Question reference: S5W-09053

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 April 2017
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the average time taken to close a homeless case is in each local authority.

The following table shows the average (mean) time in weeks from date of application to date of duty discharge/case closure, for homeless applications assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness and closed in 2015-16, by local authority.

	2015-16
Scotland	33
Aberdeen City	29
Aberdeenshire	28
Angus	20
Argyll & Bute	33
Clackmannanshire	31
Dumfries & Galloway	40
Dundee City	30
East Ayrshire	16
East Dunbartonshire	48
East Lothian	44
East Renfrewshire	20
Edinburgh	33
Eilean Siar	45
Falkirk	23
Fife	32
Glasgow City	35
Highland	41
Inverclyde	24
Midlothian	96
Moray	24
North Ayrshire	20
North Lanarkshire	34
Orkney	17
Perth & Kinross	49
Renfrewshire	20
Scottish Borders	20
Shetland	76
South Ayrshire	17
South Lanarkshire	35
Stirling	37
West Dunbartonshire	21
West Lothian	33

Source: HL1 dataset as at 25-05-16

Question reference: S5W-09060

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 April 2017
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding homeless hubs set up prior to 2012, how many hub meetings there have been since 2012, and what the outcomes of these meetings were.

The Scottish Government does not keep this level of information. It is for the local authority-led Housing Options hubs to plan and facilitate their own meetings and develop and implement their own workplans. Scottish Government officials attend where required.

The Scottish Government organises regular National seminars for Housing Options hubs and other local authority representatives, with the involvement of third sector organisations.

Question reference: S5W-09054

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 April 2017
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many homeless people have been housed by a local authority in accommodation outside of its area in each of the last three years, also broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S5W-09058

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 April 2017
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what standards local authorities have to follow regarding homelessness applications.

Homelessness legislation sets out the steps local authorities must take on receiving a homelessness application. This includes the applicant’s right to a review of any decision by the local authority.

The statutory Code of Guidance on Homelessness, to which local authorities must have regard, also makes clear the individual’s right to make a homelessness application. This is further outlined in the non statutory Housing Options Guidance, published last year and which is currently being reviewed.

The Scottish Housing Regulator also plays a role in reviewing and providing feedback on local authorities’ practice regarding homelessness applications.